Is There Life Out There?
by laurah2215
Summary: Pairing: CJ/Danny; Josh/Donna. Series: The Unplanned Blessing.


Is There Life Out There

**Is There Life Out There?**

Title: Is There Life Out There?

_Series: The Unplanned Blessing_

_Author: Laura H_

_Rating: Teen to Adult. Disclaimer: We've been doing this long enough that you know I'm not making a penny. Also, the titled song " Is There Life Out There?" belongs to the beautiful talents of Reba McEntire. I'm sure you're not surprised to see me included another country song. _

_Synopsis: The kids deal with the hardships of balancing their school work and parenting responsibilities._

_Author's Notes: Basically alot of the feelings here have been ones I've experienced personally. I try try try so hard not to project myself onto Abbey, but I fail miserably. I need to start writing some more strictly CJ/Danny and ignore these little muses. _

_Archived at:_

_laurasfanfiction.__  
__journals./lauraelizebeth22/mypage/__  
__laurah2215./__  
__groups./westwingfanfiction__  
__groups./TheWestWingExecutiveBranchFanfictionArchive__  
__groups./group/wwexecutivebranch__  
__community./twwfanfiction/__  
__/authorresults.php?author836__  
__/laurah2215__  
_

_Timeline:_

_March 2025: Story 1- The Weight of the World; Story 2- Changes;Story 3-The Wedding;_

_May 2025: Story 4-Making Memories _

_July 2025: Story 5- Practice Makes Perfect_

_August 2025: Story 6- This Isn't the Way It Was Supposed To Happen_

_October 2025:Story 7:Methods_

_February 2026: Is There Life Out There?_

"We're home!" CJ calls cheerfully as she pushes the front door of the house open, lays her purse and briefcase on the ground and proceeds to walk through to the den with her twenty-three week old grand-daughter in her arms.

"My baby! How are you?" Abbey immediately abandons her classical civilizations textbook on the couch and stands up to take her child into her outstretched arms.

"Tell Mommy you missed her today," CJ teasingly encourages Jordan as she hands her off to her daughter.

Jordan curls into Abbey's shoulder and lets out a happy squeal. Abbey runs a hand through the baby girl's reddish brown tiny curls and kisses her cheek. " I missed her, too." Four weeks ago she and Noah had begun classes at U.C.L.A. CJ was able to invoke special privilege to get the under-aged baby into the Hollis Inc. Day Care Centre at her work. For now she would spend the day there while CJ worked and the kids attended school. Noah and Abbey would likely enrol Jordan at the campus day care next fall when she's older and can interact better with other babies.

"How was your day?" CJ inquires as she heads into the kitchen with Abbey close in toe.

"Pretty good. I hate European History. Professor Phelps is a complete drone." Abbey sets Jordan on the counter as CJ checks the casserole Abbey had thrown in the oven a half an hour ago when she and Noah got home from classes. Luckily they had been able to coordinate schedules so they shared most classes and could commute to school together. Abbey found that between course work and caring for Jordan, she had no time to try out for sports teams or join clubs as she had always imagined she'd do in college. Noah had secured a spot on the varsity basketball team after a player was knocked out of the season for a knee injury, as well as joining Model U.N and the campus Young Democrats association. These didn't distract Noah too much from school and his parenting responsibilities (basketball once or twice a week and the other two never meeting more than once every couple weeks), but silently Abbey resented him for being able to still have the college experience all the other freshmen were enjoying. He had even managed to make friends and study partners in the few weeks they had been present. He even works part-time at the junior senator's office.

CJ frowns in sympathy. "That's really too bad. You want your father to talk to him about putting the spark in the minds of America's academic youth?"

Abbey shakes her head violently. "Absolutely not."

"Where's Noah?" CJ inquires, taking some lettuce out of the fridge to make a salad.

" He has basketball practice this afternoon. His friend is driving him home later." She rolls her eyes at the idea. Noah barely has to study for the courses she spends each night reviewing. Sometimes she envies how naturally everything comes for him.

"Do you have a problem with his extra-curricular activities?" CJ asks sensitively, her brow cocked.

Abbey bows her head. "I shouldn't. It's not like it interferes a lot with his school work and taking care of Jordan. I honestly have no idea how he balances it all. He's so much better at everything than me, even parenting."

CJ's heart aches for her daughter. " Honey, you know that's not true. You're just as smart as him and just as wonderful with Jordan. And, actually, I think you're the one with more balance. Noah, much like Josh, suffers from an insatiable drive to always be moving. Noah couldn't sit still to save his life. He needs to be doing a hundred things at once because that's the way his engine runs. But, sweetie, he'll have to be careful or he'll burn out. Trust me, I worked in the White House, and your father and in-laws can testify that bodies are not machines that do not require rest. He can't keep this pace forever."

Abbey pauses a beat to consider this aspect of her husband's personality she had never considered. "So why do you think he works so hard and fast all the time?"

CJ's lips quirk in a smile as she rinses lettuce. " Because, like his father, he wants to please everyone and live up to their expectations. He wants to do well academically because that's what Josh and Donna expect of him. He wants to play sports because his friends think it's cool. He wants to be involved with the Democratic Party because he hopes to work in the government, and because your father would never let you be with a Republican." CJ smirks and Abbey responds with an eye-roll. " And he works hard at home to be a good husband and father because you're the most important thing in the world to him and he honestly wants to make you completely happy."

Abbey is stunned that she had never made that connection before, and even more stunned that her mother understands what drives her husband better than she does. Noah works so hard because he doesn't want to disappoint anyone, especially her and Jordan. Maybe he can simply manage more than her because he's conditioned himself to never slow down so he doesn't miss out on something that could make someone he loves more proud of him. But there's something missing she doesn't quite understand. Josh and Donna, much like her own parents, had always taken pride in whatever their children excelled at, whether it was Davy's piano talent, Ella's winning science fair project or Noah's basketball. They didn't try to force the children to take part in activities they didn't like, and they would never have been upset if the kids failed at something they themselves would have liked them to be good at. They were supportive and encouraging, but not forceful. So why does Noah feel the need to constantly excel.

"Hey," Noah greets as he flies through the front door and dumps his backpack at the foot of the stairs before commencing on into the kitchen. "Hey." He drops a quick kiss to Abbey's head and then scoops Jordan up and proceeds to blow raspberries on her stomach.

"You smell. You should go take a shower." Abbey giggles and pokes Noah in the chest.

CJ scans the fridge for tomatoes. "Don't be too long. Danny will be home in about twenty minutes and then we'll eat."

"Okay, great. Thanks. All right, princess, you go back to Mommy now but later you and I have plans to play 'Peek-a-Boo'." Noah smothers Jordan's rosy cheeks in kisses before reluctantly handing her back to Abbey.

"You also have plans to change diapers and give her a bath," Abbey points out half-seriously as Jordan whimpers for Noah to come back.

CJ shakes her head with a smile. " Noah's a good father. I don't know a whole lot of boys his age that would saddle up for poopy diapers and sleepless nights with babies screaming in their ears."

Abbey shrugs. "Yeah, but that's because everyone, especially Josh, made it perfectly clear that if were gonna go through with this then we had to do it properly. He didn't have the option to be a half-assed, part-time father."

CJ cuts up tomatoes to add to the salad. "Nor should he. If you had to go through the pregnancy and labour and birth and raise this baby then he had to be a full participant and do everything to help you. I just meant that he could have been bitter about it. He could have whined and complained and refused to do the dirty jobs. Most boys his age wouldn't have the patience he has to look after a baby. And the difference is, I think he really does enjoy being a parent."

"Yes, he really does. He adores Jordan. But do you think that I don't enjoy it?" Abbey draws Jordan's head to her chest to cuddle.

CJ shakes her head. "Of course not. I know you love your child and are getting much more confident. But that doesn't mean it's an enjoyable experience all the time. Sometimes it's just plain hard. It's okay if you're not always thrilled about motherhood."

Abbey nods, seemingly satisfied with that response. When she was a little depressed in the early weeks and months after Jordan was born, CJ assured her it was normal to be stressed and overwhelmed and exhausted. She made it clear it was acceptable not to feel like this was the best thing in the world. But when she asked Abbey if she honestly unconditionally loved her child and she responded unhesitatingly in the affirmative, Abbey felt confident that the feelings she was experiencing weren't because she was a terrible mother or selfish person. She was a good mother and always tried hard to help her child, and that was what mattered. She didn't have to feel euphoria every day. " There's really nothing in the world more important to me than her, but it doesn't mean that there aren't other important things in my life, too. Like my education and career are critical to my development and I couldn't reasonably feel complete without them."

"Yes, of course. You and Pat have been the best thing that ever came out of me. But I also take pride in my career and past academic and professional accomplishments. I also value my marriage and my family and close friends. You guys have always been number one, but there were still other numbers. I was the kind of women who took great joy out of being a mother, but wouldn't have been completely satisfied if I didn't have my own life and career." CJ lifts Jordan into her arms and hugs her soundly.

"Yeah, that's what I want too," Abbey admits. Sometimes she just wishes she could still be a regular eighteen year-old.

CJ fastens the baby into her bouncy seat and settles her in with a couple toys to play with. "And you can have it, sweetheart. I've told you before. So if you want to do some of that stuff Noah does, you should. I'm sure between your father, Pat, Josh, Donna and I we can work out a babysitting schedule to allow you some time to do fun activities."

Abbey frowns. "Thanks, I appreciate that. But I think this semester I'll just focus on getting used to the college work load and taking care of Jordan. You do so much for us I already feel guilty making you watch Jordan as much as you do."

CJ chuckles. " You do realize that we all fight over who gets to hold her? Honey, we don't mind at all. Yes, we have other commitments and we like to go out by ourselves. But you don't have to be guilty because we help out a lot. We enjoy it. We told you we would be there for you and Noah the whole time. You both put a tremendous effort forward so we're willing to take on a brunt of the responsibility."

"Yeah, okay. Well, in case I forget sometimes, thank you." Abbey looks down at Jordan happily sucking on the teddy bear Noah had made for her at "Build a Bear".

"You're welcome." CJ fishes through the fridge for salad dressing. "Now, I had an idea I wanted to run by you. I was thinking we could have a big surprise birthday party for Noah next weekend. We wanted to really celebrate your birthday last week but then Jordan got the ear infection and we couldn't go through with the plans. But maybe we could do something for Noah. We could invite all your friends from high school and his new friends at U.C.L.A."

Abbey has to take a moment to consider this. She was actually glad that she wasn't able to have a large gathering on her eighteenth birthday. Some of her old friends had come by to brighten her day as she tended to her sick baby. Her girlfriends adored hanging out with Abbey as they loved the cute baby, but their own college schedules combined with Abbey's didn't seem to reconcile often. Abbey was glad when she could visit with them once every few weeks. She had a nice simple dinner at home( they made Mexican food because they weren't able to go to their favourite restaurant with the sick baby) and CJ and Donna made Abbey's favourite cake. Abbey received wonderful gifts from her family. CJ and Danny had given her a string of pearls that had been created by the jeweller Danny always used for CJ's jewellery. She had taken original pearls from Danny's mothers set, CJ's mother's set and the set Danny had given CJ their first Christmas together to create Abbey's unique string. Luckily the pearls were similar enough that everything complimented each other and didn't look at all out of place. Josh and Donna had given her a couple books (not that she really has time for pleasure reading, but she assumes she'll get around to them eventually) and a gift certificate to a half-day spa (with assurance they would baby-sit while she was pampered). Noah had spent hours scouring eBay and rare books websites for an autographed special edition of one of Abbey's favourite books by an author she greatly admired. He was finally able to find an authentic copy and had it shipped to him via his parents house. He knew Abbey would not expect that much from him as their budget was extremely low and he had given her concert tickets and a nice set of earrings for Christmas. But Josh had snuck a present over when they were having cake without Noah's notice. Abbey opened the signature blue-green Tiffany's box and revealed a simple white gold charm bracelet from what Josh said was Noah. Stunned, Noah had turned surprised eyes on his father before receiving a smile and look that said he'd explain later. Abbey never caught the look or the conversation that came after, so she immediately heartily thanked Noah for the book and bracelet she truly loved. Noah had thanked his father but insisted that he had to correct Abbey and confess the true giver to her. He didn't want to lie to his new wife and deceive her into thinking he could always get her nice presents. Josh told Noah that there were three annual occasions when Noah should try to give Abbey something nice and memorable, preferably in the form of jewellery: The wedding anniversary, Christmas and her birthday. It didn't always have to cost hundreds of dollars, but it should be something romantic and memorable. While Abbey was a basically simple young woman and would have certainly appreciated just the book he had gone to a lot of trouble to find her, he should try to really cherish her on these occasions, especially their first Christmas and birthday as a married couple and their first anniversary. Josh assured him that he and Danny, after being married now for over eighteen years to their wives, would try to help him with suggestions. Noah hadn't wanted to start a tradition that Abbey would expect lavish gifts on each occasion, but had agreed to try to give her nice jewellery once a year and come up with romantic alternatives for the other occasions, so he could illustrate to Abbey the depth of his love and adoration.

Abbey, after considering everything Noah does for her and Jordan, decides that maybe they could do something nice for Noah. "I don't know. I guess we could have something. He doesn't loathe surprises like I do. " She chuckles lightly. " But we'll have to coerce Davy into keeping this secret."

"That will be hard. Why don't you figure out how to invite Noah's new friends and I'll plan the rest with Donna?" CJ hands Abbey a pile of plates to set the dining room table.

She married when she was twenty  
She thought she was ready  
Now shes not so sure  
She thought she'd done some living  
But now shes just wonderin  
What shes living for  
Now shes feeling that theres something more

Shes always lived for tomorrow  
Shes never learned how  
To live for today  
Shes dyin to try something foolish  
Do something crazy  
Or just get away  
Something for herself for a change

Is there life out there  
So much she hasn't done  
Is there life beyond  
Her family and her home  
She's done what she should  
Should she do what she dares  
She doesn't want to leave  
Shes just wonderin  
Is there life out there

Theres a place in the sun that shes never been  
Where life is fair and time is a friend  
Would she do it the same as she did back then  
She looks out the window and wonders again

Is there life out there  
So much she hasn't done  
Is there life beyond  
Her family and her home  
She's done what she should  
Should she do what she dares  
She doesn't want to leave  
Shes just wonderin  
Is there life out there

Tossing her backpack over her shoulder, Abbey heads in the direction of the cafeteria where she's supposed to meet Noah for lunch. Crossing the building and making her way through the throng of rushing students, Abbey spots her husband standing around a table and talking to three other guys who she assumes are his friends.

"You should come to the party, Noah. It'll be awesome." Guy number one, a tall skinny black man, invites Noah.

"You've gotta meet Dunkin. You'll love this guy. He's hilarious," Guy number two, a short,stout pale man adds. "At least, that's what Theo says. I...I haven't had the pleasure to meet him."

"Thanks for the invite, guys. But I've kinda got my hands full at home with the baby and the English Lit test is the following Monday, so I'll need to study, " Noah regretfully informs his friends.

"Man, it must be a drag being married and with a kid," Guy number three, a tall Mexican, shakes his head. " But good on ya for sticking with it."

Noah shrugs casually. " It's not that bad. I love Abbey and Jordan so it's all worth it in the end."

"Speaking of which," Guy number one nods in Abbey's direction as she approaches the group. " This must be your girl." He recognizes the long, loosely curled red hair from the pictures Noah has on his laptop.

Beaming, Noah turns to greet Abbey with a quick kiss. " Hey, it's good to see you. I ran into some friends from English Lit. Abbey, this is Theo, Will and Marco. Guys, this is my wife, Abbey."

Abbey offers her hand to each boy in turn and puts on a smile.

"Would it be okay if we sit here and have lunch with them?" Noah inquires, not wanting to awkwardly put Abbey in a bad position. They usually have lunch together alone.

"Sure," Abbey agrees breezily.

"I'm gonna go get some sandwiches. You want something else?" Noah asks Abbey as he picks his backpack off the floor and throws it over one shoulder.

"Lemonade, please," Abbey responds and takes a seat next to Will.

"Noah talks about you and the baby all the time," Will informs Abbey, digging into his tuna salad. He doesn't have a large pool of experience talking to girls, so his fingers are shaking.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Please don't hold that against him. Noah's really a fun guy," Abbey chuckles. " I just drag him down."

Theo shrugs. " Nah. We never thought he was borning 'cause he has a kid. It's kinda cool. So what are you studying?"

"Double major political science and earth science, " replies Abbey a little nervously. "What about you?"

"English and journalism," Theo responds.

"Really? Are you in Introduction to Journalism and Writing for Media?" Abbey inquires, her nerves starting to subside.

"Yeah. Why?" Theo cocks his head to the side.

"My father teaches that class," Abbey tells him, slightly embarrassed.

Theo grins in disbelief. "No way! Your dad is Danny Concannon? He's got like a million Pulitzer prizes and has written books on the New York Times Best Seller List."

Abbey shrugs with a small smile. " Yeah, I know. They used to be my bed-time stories when I read every children's book in the library," Abbey chuckles in self-deprecation.

"Is he a hard marker?" Theo wants to know, lowering his head.

Abbey lowers her voice to a whisper. "I'll give you a tip. When you're preparing a bibliography, don't attempt to 'pad it' with useless sources. He's more about the quality of the sources than the quantity. He'll actually check every source himself."

Theo shakes his head in amazement. " Thanks for the advice."

"Hey, if your father is Danny Concannon, does that make your mother CJ Cregg, the former first woman Chief of Staff under Bartlet?" Marco inquires, clearly having done his poli-sci homework if he's able to recite that fact.

Abbey tries not to roll her eyes. Some of the keener kids at her high school used to make a big deal of that. Most of the few kids she actually talks to at university have all instantly made the connection when she says her name is Abbey Concannon-Lyman. Some recognize the name Concannon and inquire about her father and mother. Then if they ask about the Lyman, she has to explain she married the eldest child of Josh Lyman, the former Deputy Chief of Staff under Bartlet and Chief of Staff under Santos, and Donna Moss-Lyman, the former First Lady's Chief of Staff. When they ask why she was married at seventeen, she has to explain that she has a baby. Thus, Abbey tends not to converse much in her classes and prefers to work independently. She tends to avoid telling her classmates her last names, since most of the poli-sci group recognize them. So, she tends to prefer her earth science and environmental geology classes. " Yeah, that's my mom. But my parents aren't really involved in federal politics anymore. I guess after they married and had me, they wanted to settle into less-stressful and more manageable careers. I know this is a little weird since we just met, but would you guys like to come to a surprise birthday party for Noah on the weekend?"

"A party, really? You're...you're...you're inviting me to a party? Really?" Will's massive green eyes bulge in genuine shock. He doesn't typically get invited to parties.

"Sure," Abbey shrugs. " Why don't you give me your e-mails and I'll send you the details?"

"That's great. Noah and I have a few friends from poli-sci, do you want me to tell them?" Marco offers, scribbling his contact info onto a napkin for Abbey.

Abbey smiles as she collects Noah's friends' contact information. The plan was going well so far. "Sure, that'd be okay. Just make it clear it's by invite only. It'll be at Noah's parents' house, so we can't be too crazy."

Noah rejoins the group with a tray loaded with two sandwiches and two bottles of drinks.

"Noah, you didn't tell us your wife has famous parents like you do," Theo teases Noah in jest.

Noah cracks a smile as she settles into the seat beside Abbey and places the tray between them on the table. "Yeah. Our parents all met like a mlillion years ago on the campaign trail for Bartlet. Actually our dads go back even further."

"So, what do you guys study?" Abbey switches the subject, turning to Marco and Will as she takes a bite of her turkey sandwich.

"Politics and history," Marco replies, opening a bottle of Coke.

"Uh, chemistry and physics...with a minor in...in...biology," Will manages to spit out.

Abbey has to smile, proud that Noah could make so many friends with so many different kinds of people. But thinking of his social ease makes her ache for the days of hers. She feels like since she had a baby, she doesn't have the time or even the right to have a social life. She kept seeing her old friends because noone would reasonably think she should abandon her old friends simply because she had a baby. But how could she cultivate new relationships when she was too busy to really hang on to the old ones? How could she take time for herself when she had a demanding little baby at home that she brought into the world? How could she ask her parents or in-laws or even Noah to take care of Jordan, when they already did so much, just so she could go and hang out with friends? She finds herself, once again, staring longingly at the young pretty girls who can go to school and learn and discover themselves and be friends with whoever they want.

The surprise party was executed perfectly. About eight of Abbey and Noah's friends from highschool were in attendence and fifteen new friends Noah met on campus through his classes, basketball and clubs also showed up. Donna's sister and brother-in-law flew out of Wisconsin for the event.

Now, having had a chance to at least say hi to everyone in attendence, Noah seeks out Abbey in the living room. " Hey." He takes her hands and draws her in for a hug. " I heard you orchestrated this whole thing. I wanted to say thanks. It's so nice to have all these people here."

Abbey smiles warmly and rests her forehead against Noah's shoulder. "It was actually my mom's idea and your mom planned most of it."

Noah rubs circular patterns on Abbey's back. "Yeah, but you asked all the people to come. I'm having a great time. It's so cool because I don't get to hang out with my friends much."

Abbey pushes back a little to gaze up at Noah. "You should do that more often."

Noah rolls his eyes with slight chuckle. " Yeah, right. Like I have time between school and work and looking after Jordan."

"No, seriously, Noah. If there's times you want to go out and just be a normal guy, it's okay with me. Like Marco told me about this party next weekend you want to go to. I think you should do it. It's okay to have a social life." Abbey nods certainly. She's thought about it alot and decided that Noah deserves a chance to be a normal freshman.

Noah smiles gratefully. "Thanks. I appreciate that. But I don't wanna go unless you'll come with me to these things."

Abbey laughs lightly. " Yeah right. Someone's gotta stay here with Jordan. Besides, you don't want your lame little wife tagging along and ruining your reputation. "

Grinning, Noah shakes his head. " You're not lame, and I don't really care about a reputation. Honey,I don't want you think that just because you're a mother that you're not cool anymore and don't deserve to have friends. I know you feel like you've got to work hard at school and devote yourself to Jordan, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't have friends. In fact, I think it would be good for you to relax and get out more. The last few months have been crazy and you really deserve to have a break. So, I want you to come out to these little social gatherings and meet people. Besides, you should come and make it clear that I'm your man and have been taken before all the loose freshman girls try to seduce me." Noah cracks a dimply grin as he reaches for Abbey's waist and draws her in for a kiss.

Smiling, Abbey concedes that Noah is probably right. She should get out more. " Okay, I'll come defend your honour and make sure you don't do something stupid like get drunk off your ass." She accepts Noah's kiss, knowing for certain that Noah would never do anything stupid that would hurt her or their baby.

Noah tugs Abbey toward the den. "Come meet Ksenia and Taylan. I think you'd like them. They're in your enviornmental geology class."

Abbey takes a deep breath and relaxes. There's no reason she nees to feel like she's trapped in a prison and can't have any fun because she has a baby. As long as she works hard, takes care of Jordan and does well in school, she knows it will be enough and that she'll have the support at home she needs to be able to succeed in all the important facets of her life.


End file.
